Halfway up Commercial Street, one block away from Spitalfields Market, lies an anonymous service road. The average pedestrian wouldn't even notice it existed. But unlikely though it may seem, this characterless, 400ft strip of tarmac was once Dorset Street - the most notorious thoroughfare in the Capital; the worst street in London and the resort of Protestant fire-brands, thieves, con-men, pimps, prostitutes and murderers, most notably Jack the Ripper. Spitalfields as a whole is now a vibrant and fashionable place to live, work and play; the home of artists and artisans, just as it was when the Huguenots settled there. However, as dusk falls, the seemingly indelible, sordid side of this fascinating part of London begins to emerge once again as the unknowing descendants of Mary Kelly, Mary Ann Austin and Kitty Ronan and others begin to ply their trade around the hallowed walls of Christ Church. All signs of Dorset Street, ' the worst street in London', may all but have disappeared from the map but its legacy is too powerful to ever be entirely erased. This book chronicles the rise and fall of this remarkable street, from its promising beginnings at the centre of the 17th Century silk weaving industry through its gradual descent into iniquity, vice and violence to its final demise at the hands of the demolition men. Its remarkable history gives a fascinating insight into an area of London that has, from its initial development, been a cultural melting pot - the place where many thousands of immigrants became Londoners. It also tells the story of a part of London that, until quite recently, was largely left to fend for itself, with truly horrifying results.

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Interesting but not well written in my opinion. I fluctuated between a 3 and a 4 star review for this as I did find it interesting but did become more and more irritated with her writing style throughout. She simply is not a very good writer, it did feel at times like I was reading a school essay, lots of repeated uses of 'however', or 'by 18xx' and as another review points out, at times there seemed to be a lot of padding.

My experience is probably made worse as I have read a couple of Sarah Wise' books previously and at the same time as reading this by Fiona Rule I am also reading 'The Blackest Streets' by Sarah Wise and the difference in quality of articulation between them is significant.

That said, if like me you are interested in these areas of Victorian London then it provides colour, interest and information. My ancestors are unfortunately from Dorset Street and the surrounds and the Old Nichol areas and its unbelievable at times that anyone survived these areas when the conditions were as described.

I would have liked to see more confirmation of where the information was from in this book. There are a lot of statements about the actions of various characters in and around the 'story' but no confirmation of how this information was gathered. Also it would have helped to have better and clearer maps for context.

Spitalfields in the 17thC was the centre of the Silk weaving industry, and basically this is the history of its downward spiral until in the 19thC the area became infamous for criminality, lawlessness and it's connection with the Ripper. Along the way we discover much about the location and it's famous personalities, how people lived and died and made money, and the terrible living conditions for most of the local population. A great book for dipping into, full of anecdotes and surprising facts, it prompted me to take a more in depth discovery of the history of London.

I liked all the historical background about the waves of immigration, the Huguenots who brought their silk-weaving skills, followed by the Irish escaping from the Potato Famine, the Russian & East European Jews fleeing from the Pogroms. I was interested to learnabout William III imposing the ban on importation of wine & spirits from France, giving rise to the smuggling trade. The McCarthyfamily's rise from abject poverty to being holders of a substantial property portfolio & their music hall & Hollywood connections also interested me. Fiona Rule wove a colourful account of life in London's East End at other periods in history.

I loved this, historically so well researched - and it helps if you know the streets being talked about. But well done to Fiona Rule, this atmospherically put the worst of London past into clear detail.

The tragic history of Dorset Street in London's East End. Very sad lives of the people in the days before benefits. Also was the street where two of Jack the Ripper's victims lived. Very well written and illustrated by Fiona. Please buy it.

A very informative and interesting book extremely well researched and written. The chapters are compact and present the relative information without over presenting it. The book transported me back in time and taught me a lot about life in this part of Victorian London. The best book I have read so far on this subject.